Hammond helped Venice win back-to-back state titles

Before Cooper Hammond turned his offbeat pitching style into his arsenal, the former Venice baseb.all player had some squirrely outings.

He hit batters, hit dirt and gave up his fair share of runs.

Hammond was 10 years old, throwing overhand and playing in the Venice Little League. His father, worried about his mechanics and the potential for injury, called Jeff Callan, the pitching coach at Venice High, for some advice.

“His dad called me and said he’s throwing funky and he was,” Callan said. “So we started developing him as a sidewinder.”

Some of the coaches at Venice teased Callan about turning a 10-year-old into a submarine pitcher.

“But it obviously paid off,” Callan said.

Today, Hammond is a sidewinding stud with an 88 mph fastball, his pitches referred to as “sick” or “nasty” by opposing hitters.

As Venice’s ace this year, he helped the Indians win their second straight state high school baseball title while only giving up one run in 55 innings.

He finished the year 9-0 with a 0.13 ERA, allowing just 18 hits, his talent and performance earning him HTPreps Player of the Year honors.

More importantly, his play got him a baseball scholarship to the University of Miami.
Little did Hammond know that changing his arm angle on pitches would give him such an edge.

But his coaches at Venice thought it would, even though they nearly cut him his freshman year.

“He was on the bubble even as a JV player,” Venice coach Craig Faulkner said. “He threw 30 mph, was a small kid who was very weak and could barely get the ball to the plate.”

“But he went from being one of the guys on the bubble to one of the best in the nation because he was consistent and worked hard. You never had to tell him twice to work on something.”

Cooper Hammond is the baseball player of the year. Photo by Rachel S. O'Hara.

Faulkner knew he had a special player in Hammond after watching him get out of jammed situations with ease and poise.

“He would come in with two or three runners on and would never give up a run,” Faulkner said. “He never lost it on the mound. There wasn’t any time where we had to say ‘Man we have to get him out of the game, he just doesn’t have it today.’”

Hammond knows his skills are elite but says his teammates are responsible for making him nearly unhittable this season.

“They were making great plays all year, saving me a bunch of the times. Without them I wouldn’t have been able to only give up one run,” Hammond said.

At Miami, he will try to emulate that success, something his coaches don’t think he will have a problem doing.

“I don’t think they realize how good of a player they have yet,” Callan said.

“It takes a tremendous amount of work to be successful with his pitching style and he was relentless with it. It definitely paid off.”

PLAYER OF THE YEAR Cooper Hammond, VeniceSenior
Side-winding right-handed reliever went 8-0 with 10 saves and a 0.14 earned run average for the Class 7A state champion Indians. Struck out 53 and walked 6. He allowed one earned run the entire season, coming in Venice’s second game. Was the Class 7A Player of the Year and finished fourth in the Mr. Baseball voting by the Florida Dairy Farmers. Heading to the University of Miami.

COACH OF THE YEARCraig Faulkner, Venice
Playing one of the toughest schedules in the country, Faulkner guided the Indians to a 29-3 record and the second straight 7A State title. Venice went to the National High School Invitational in Cary, N.C., and took part in the Perfect Game Florida/Georgia Showdown. The Indians finished second, second and fourth in the national polls. It was Faulkner’s third state title in 15 years.

FIRST TEAM Tyson Albert, VeniceSenior
The right-handed pitcher went 7-0 with a 0.50 ERA. Allowed 31 hits and struck out 53 in 56 innings.

Justin Cohen, RiverviewSophomore
The catcher led the Rams with a .365 batting average, .478 on-base percentage, .541 slugging percentage, 27 hits, 20 runs and fielding percentage .989. Threw out 70 percent of would-be base stealers. Had five doubles, a triple and two homers.

Tyler Dietrich, Out-of-DoorSophomore
The catcher led the team in hits (38), doubles (11), triples (5) and fielding percentage. He hit safely in 23 of 26 games and batted .481 with 21 RBI and 14 stolen bases. Threw out a 75 percent of runners attempting to steal and picked off six. Also played shortstop, outfield and first base.

Brandon Elmy, VeniceJunior
The right-handed pitcher/outfielder went 5-2 with a 0.44 ERA with three of the victories against nationally ranked teams. Allowed 17 hits while striking out 35. Batted .286.

Josh Knies, SarasotaSenior
The right-handed pitcher went 7-5 with a 0.93 ERA and 62 strikeouts in 60 innings.

Sean Lasban, RiverviewSenior
The left-handed pitcher/outfielder went 9-2 with a 0.59 ERA and 108 strikeouts in 71 innings. Allowed 21 hits, 18 walks and 6 earned runs. Pitched six complete-game shutouts, including a 1-0 no-hitter against Sarasota and a 1-0 victory over Venice. Batted .253 with three triples, two homers, 20 RBI and 15 runs. Selected by the Texas Rangers.

Donovan Petrey, Port CharlotteSophomore
The left-handed hitting transfer from DeSoto County batted .344 with four doubles, a home run, 25 runs and 14 stolen bases in 17 attempts out of the leadoff spot in his first season with the Pirates.

Cord Sandberg, ManateeSenior
The left-handed hitting outfielder batted .418 with six doubles, two triples, a home run, nine RBI, seven stolen bases and 22 runs. Was a third-round selection by Philadelphia, 89th overall, and signed with the Phillies.